Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Good O'l Reviews: Irredeemable

Irredeemable #25 Review

His fist splits atoms. Literally.

Written by Mark Waid
Art by Peter Krause
May 4, 2011

The Plutonian, a man with Superman's power set, was the world's greatest hero until he cracked and went rogue. If that doesn't sound bad enough, this issue provides a huge revelation about the nature of the Plutonian's powers that make his switch to bad guy all the more worrisome.

It turns out his powers are not of a physical nature, but are based around subconsciously manipulating molecules to simulate laser beams, icy breath, etc. His super strength is not strength; rather he is hardening his fists to diamonds while softening the molecules of whoever he is punching.

Making up science to explain powers can oft be confusing and a hinder to the plot (we don't care why he can burn an army of tree-men to ash, we just want to see him do it), but Waid crafts the conversation in a way that adds an extra layer of tension to the whole story. The Plutonian is no longer just a man gone wrong with Superman's powers, he is a man gone wrong with the powers of Dr. Manhattan and he doesn't even know it. Uh-oh!

Special note has to be given to the prison made up of layers of increasingly dangerous dimensions. An extraordinary captive demands an extraordinary cell, and Krause draws a haunting cave where the blackness seems endless, a forest of seemingly innumerable killer trees, and two characters walk a bridge spiraling into space, framed in a way that winks unashamedly at 2001: A Space Odyssey.